The Definitive Guide to Comedy
New York Comedy Club and Broadway Comedy Club joined six small city theater venues in filing a lawsuit Friday in Federal District Court in Manhattan, arguing the city and state unfairly have kept them shut down this fall while allowing other entertainment venues to reopen amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The …
It only took 36 years, but the co-creators of the band and mockumentary, This Is Spinal Tap, have reached a settlement to pay Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner, Michael McKean and Christopher Guest at least some more of what they claimed they were owed in some $400 million in profits from …
Almost two years ago, back in January 2018, Mo’Nique spilled tea about what she claimed was some serious discrimination on the part of streaming giant Netflix. She said they offered her $500,000 for a proposed stand-up comedy special. At the same time, Netflix had made highly-publicized deals for $20 million …
U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan dismissed a lawsuit today by director Christian Charles against Jerry Seinfeld, arguing that Charles’s claims against Seinfeld over the copyright for Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee were filed too late. “Because Charles was on notice that his ownership claim had been repudiated since at …
The lawsuit by a San Diego man claiming Conan O’Brien’s TBS late-night show stole jokes from his Twitter for Conan’s monologue has settled out of court, shortly before going to trial. O’Brien wrote about the decision to settle in an essay today in Variety, saying in part: “I decided to …
John Oliver has beat back a defamation lawsuit filed against him and his HBO show, Last Week Tonight, by Murray Energy Corporation coal magnate Robert Murray. The judge in the case in West Virginia’s second judicial circuit, Jeffrey Cramer, wrote: “I find the arguments set forth in the Defendants’ Motion to …
Just when you thought it was safe to tell jokes in Canada… Wait. You thought it was safe to tell jokes in Canada? Don’t let the extravagance of Just For Laughs fool you. For all of the “ethnic” and “nasty” shows at JFL Montreal each July, there are comedy bookers …
In case you missed it, HBO’s VICE News recently took a look at joke theft through the prism of an ongoing lawsuit by a Twitter user named Robert Alex Kaseberg, who alleges Conan O’Brien and his Team Coco staff on TBS stole jokes from him for use in his monologues. …
After all these years, the first criminal trial charging comedy legend Bill Cosby with drugging and molesting at least one woman against her will has ended quicker than anyone expected in a mistrial. The trial began June 5, went to the jury after a six-minute defense, and ended Saturday after …
How selfish could Vivendi and StudioCanal be over the profits from 32 years of This Is Spinal Tap? The answer is none. None more selfish. Harry Shearer, who created the fictional yet real metal band Spinal Tap alongside comedians Christopher Guest and Michael McKean, then brought it to life with …
